"There is no scorn more profound, or on the whole more justifiable, than that of the men who make for the men who explain. Exposition, criticism, appreciation, is work for second-rate minds." G.H. Hardy, A Mathematician's Apology (1941)

Early Morning Mathematics

A blinking light was truly a sign of a good night’s sleep. Swinging his legs off the bed Lee spoke to no one, “REM Scanner results.”

From speakers hidden somewhere out of sight came the answer, “Two probable, three potentials, and one solution.”

“Bring them up on the table. While you are at it, get me a bowl of cereal and a 3 cup brew at the 2.2 ratio,” requests Lee as he walks into his bathroom. Quick cleansing blast and face splash later, Lee emerges and strides to sit down at his table. Ignoring the cereal bowl and coffee carafe he immediately starts waving his hands over the display embedded in the surface.

“A couple of these probables look oddly familiar, have you done your job and scanned through Polymath and Overflow DBs for duplicates?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“The solution is new, but for a problem that already has solutions listed at Algebra Overflow. None of the potentials or probables tripped the filters. Would you like me to do a full depth search over all theorem DBs?”

“Hold off for now. Get the new solution added to the Algebra Overflow problem posting. While you are at it these probables look eminently provable, so send them through the Theorem Prover. If you get positive results that is when you do the full search and check for uniqueness.” Finally taking a spoonful of cereal from bowl to mouth, Lee’s brow starts to crinkle in a way that only happens when he sees something interesting, or smells something disgusting. “Wait. Drop everything. Give me a priority search that second potential, it might just be the real thing.”

Two refills of the coffee cup later the voice interrupts Lee’s perusal of his morning news feeds, “Search came back negative, no similar result is, or has been, talked about on any of the normal channels.”

Smile growing on his lips Lee leans back, “Good. Code it up, Polymath Standard, and get that potential public and be sure to raise its important flag as high as you damn well can. This is one that the community will like, I can feel it. In fact, bring up the workspace, I am going to have some fun with it myself.” News feeds replaced with blank white space, Lee’s crinkly brow comes back as he fills the display with group theory.